


The Wood

by literal_insect



Category: Original Work
Genre: Adventure, Fae & Fairies, Fantasy, Gen, Original Character(s), Original Universe, fae
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-01
Updated: 2020-05-01
Packaged: 2021-03-01 21:08:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,360
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23953573
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/literal_insect/pseuds/literal_insect
Summary: Lylia’s grandfather always tells him the same thing every spring.“Be careful in the wood. The fae are tricky little creatures and they’ll try to lure you to their realm, and if that were to happen, I doubt they’d let you come back to see me or your grandmother ever again.”But what happens when he doesn't heed his grandfather's warning, and heads off on his own?
Kudos: 1





	The Wood

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this for an English assignment, and I'm rather proud of it. Also, feedback would be appreciated, even if it's simple it would mean a lot. 
> 
> His name is pronounced lie-lia.

Lylia’s grandfather always tells him the same thing every spring. 

“Be careful in the wood. The fae are tricky little creatures and they’ll try to lure you to their realm, and if that were to happen, I doubt they’d let you come back to see me or your grandmother ever again.”

Everytime Lylia leaves their little cottage he feels as though he’s being watched. He has always been careful while out picking berries or playing by the stream and he’s never gone too far into the wood. But on this particular day, things change. 

On this day Lylia is wearing one of the dresses his grandmother made for him. It’s a loose fitting dark green gown, about knee length, with a white apron-like gown over top. Normally he would pair it with long white cotton socks and brown boots, but it’s a rather warm spring day, so he's decided to stay barefoot. Last spring Lylia had found a nice patch of raspberries and blackberries, so he’s decided to see if they’re any good this year. 

He goes to the kitchen of the small cottage to find his grandfather sitting at the table reading a book. He’s wearing a collared shirt and a dull orange cardigan, and his reading glasses that always make his eyes look large. 

“Grandfather?” Lylia asks.

“Yes dear?” he says, looking up from his book.

“Is it alright if I go out to the wood to pick some berries?” His grandfather thought about his answer for a moment, then said

“Yes, that's alright. But don’t go too far into the wood. You know that the fae are dangerous folk and I don't want you getting hurt.” 

“Of course grandfather, I promise I’ll be careful.” and just like that they said their goodbyes and Lylia went on his way. 

As Lylia walked outside he got the strangest feeling that he was being watched, and it only got worse the further into the wood he went. But finally he got to the berry bushes. Basket in hand he started picking all the tasty looking berries, putting most of them in the basket, but also eating every few that he picked. About twenty minutes pass, and the basket is nearly full. The feeling of being watched is as strong as ever, and it feels almost menacing. Lylia decides to walk somewhere else, to see if he could shake off whatever or whomever was watching him. Eventually he comes across a large tree, and underneath it is a large ring of mushrooms. 

Lylia knows that it’s a fae ring. He knows the stories of the little kids who've gotten trapped in the fae realm, never allowed to see their families again. He knows that he should stay as far away from it as possible, he promised his grandfather that he’d be careful after all. But he’s never actually seen a fae ring before, and he can’t help but take a closer look. As he walks towards it there’s a loud noise. Startled, Lylia jumps, and looks around to see if he can find the source of such a noise. He can’t seem to find anything but as he turns back around he notices how quiet the wood has gotten. He looks down to pick up the basket of berries he’s dropped, then notices that he’s stepped into the fae ring!

He’s completely terrified, frozen to the spot in fear. He promised his grandfather that he would be careful, and now he’s in a fae circle. Now what’s going to happen? Are they going to take him away from his grandparents? Off to their realm, never again to return here? Now Lylia can hear some mummering to his left, he looks in that direction to see five or so fae hiding behind the large tree. They stand no taller than a rabbit, with long silky hair and wings that remind Lylia of butterflies. They realize they’ve been spotted and three of the five of them hide further behind the tree. The other two walk closer to the edge of the mushroom ring, one has long auburn hair and yellow wings, the other chestnut brown with dark blue wings. 

“Who are you, child? And why are you here?” says the one with auburn hair, their voice small but clear enough to be heard. By now Lylia has recovered from the initial shock. He has always been told by his grandfather that fae are tricksters and not something to mess around with. They can very easily trap a grown man in their realm if they wish. He knows that he shouldn’t tell the fae his name, so he doesn’t. 

“My name isn’t important.” Lylia says in the strongest voice he can muster. “But I was just picking some berries, I wandered off a bit and accidentally walked into your mushroom ring” he gestures to the fallen berry basket, then to himself. The rest of the fae walk out from behind the tree. Two have blond hair, an orange winged one and a yellow winged one, the other has black hair and sky blue wings. They whisper amongst themselves for a moment. Lylia can only hear a bit of what they’re saying. 

“Is it the boy?” 

“So it’s really him.”

“Get him out of here. Now.” 

“Doesn’t he know not to be here?” 

“Lylia, you shouldn’t be here.” the one with black hair says, as they turn towards him. 

“H-how do you know my name?” he stammers, shocked again.

“You need to leave.” the one with orange wings says “Please. They can’t find you here, they just can’t.” Suddenly there's another loud noise off in the distance, a few crows flew off of a nearby tree. “Go. Quickly.” 

Lylia is scared and he doesn’t know what’s going on. But he decides to run. He gets out of the mushroom ring, picks up the basket and runs back towards the berry bushes, then towards the stream. All the while he sees crows everywhere, and their cawing is becoming deafening. And just before he’s in sight of the cottage, he blacks out. 

Lylia wakes up in his bed at the cottage. He feels a little sore, but otherwise alright. He opens his eyes to see his worried grandparents sitting at the foot of the bed. His grandfather is wearing the same collared shirt and dull orange cardigan from earlier. His grandmother is wearing a blue button up shirt, and she has a kerchief tying up her long white hair. 

“You’re finally awake Lia, you gave us quite a fright.” his grandmother says. 

“What happened?” he asks as his grandfather turns around smiling. 

“You managed to meet some fae..” is all he manages to say before Lylia’s grandmother cuts him off. 

“He most certainly did not.” she says sternly. “Lylia dear, you were out picking berries and on your way back you must have fainted because of the heat.” 

Lylia thinks back to earlier that day. It’s a little blurry, but he remembers berry picking, and the mushroom ring, and five or so fae with beautiful wings. Then cawing, and a large black mass of feathers. 

“I did manage to salvage most of the berries you picked. Would you like some?” his grandmother asks. 

“Yes please!” she then gets up from the foot of the bed, and leaves the room. Lylia’s mind is filled with questions. 

“Were those really fae? Who were they? How did they know my name? Why should I not have been there?” 

“Whoa there Lia, slow down.” his grandfather says with a chuckle. 

“Sorry. But, it wasn’t a dream, right?” 

“No, it wasn’t a dream. And all of your questions will be answered soon. But right now” he says, standing up “you should change out of that dress, it needs to be washed. And then come out to the kitchen for some berries.” Then he stands up and walks out of the room, closing the door behind him. Lylia changes out of the dark green dress, and into a white nightgown with pink and blue flowers on it. Then he goes to the kitchen for some berries, thinking over what happened earlier that day.


End file.
